Tomato lug



Aug, 27, 1935. LEIGH 2,012,451

TOMATO LUG Filed Dec. 22, 1934 Patented Aug. 27 1935 eArsr orrlce 'roMA'ro LUG Carl G. Leigh, Chicago, 111., assignor to Leigh Banana Case Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application December 22, 1934, Serial No. 758,798

,7 illaims.

This invention relates to boxes or containers of the kind in which tomatoes are shipped or transported, a box of this kind being commonly called a tomato lug, as it is used by those who pick tomatoes, as well as for shipping them.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and arrangement whereby a box of this kind is pro vided with cleated heads or end walls forming a countersink on each end of the box,,with each upper cleat at the two ends of the box permanently secured in place and formed at its inner side with a horizontal rib formed to overhang the flat lower inner side of each cleat, and overhanging the interior of the box, in a plane above the upper edges of the front and rear sides of the box, so that the tomatoes, or other things of similar nature, are held a distance away from the ends of the box, in the plane of said ribs, thus not only protecting the contents of the box against certain kinds of injury, but also insuring a more satisfactory appearance of the tomatoes or other things, when the cover of the box is removed, and insuring a more satisfactory method of construction, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general efficiency and desirability of a box of this particular character, and to obviate the necessity of using certain things heretofore considered necessary.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective of the box embodying the principles of the invention, showing also the cover of the box.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of said box, on a larger scale, showing the middle portion thereof broken away for convenience of illustration, and to indicate that the box can be of any desired length without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the three kinds of cleats that are involved in the construction of each preformed head or end wall of the box.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises the straight front and rear and bottom walls I and 2 and 3, preferably of wood or similar material.

Each head or end wall of the box comprises the top and bottom horizontal cleats 4 and 5, and the end or vertical cleats 6 and l, the latter having their upper and lower ends provided with tongues 8 for engaging the grooves or notches 9 in the ends of thehorizontal cleats. The end wall it is fastened to the inner surfaces of the cleats by nails H, or other suitable fasteners.

Outside battens l2 are preferably provided, '8' crosswise of the lengthwise grain of the walls 5 and 2 and 3, so that these walls may be of relatively thin material, and may consist of two more strips for each wall. a

When the parts described are assembled, it 10' will be seen that the inside rounded ribs l3 of the cleats 3 overhang the upper edges of the walls it, and extend far enough toward each other to actually overhang the interior of the box. In packing the tomatoes or other things, in the box shown and described, the same are kept away from the ends of the box, by the horizontal ribs 53, in the plane of the latter, which plane extends through the top of the load, whereby the tomatoes or other things are protected against certain kinds of injury, and in addition the top of the load presents a more satisfactory appearance when the cover isremoved. As the cleats 5 in the rib l3 thereof are preferably formed in one piece, the said inwardly projecting ribs [3 result instantly from the assembling and fastening together of the four cleats and the end wall for each end of the box. This provides a good hand-grip at each end of the box, with an advantageously relatively wide surface on the top of each upper cleat, as will more fully appear.

Hence,-the construction shown and described tends to reduce the cost of'manufacture, as compared with certain "previous boxes employed for this purpose, while at thesame time insuring the requisite strength and the desired appearance when the box is loaded.

Any suitable form of cover can be employed. For example, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the strips of veneer Hi extending lengthwise of 40 the box are secured together by top end battens i 5, stapled or nailed or otherwise fastened thereto. In this way, a rectangular cover is provided which may be placed on the tops of the cleats 4, after the box is loaded, and then nailed to said cleats, to the wide tops thereof, or otherwise fastened in place to firmly hold the contents of the box. Obviously, underneath said cover, each rib l3 is the same length as the cleat of which it is a part, as the outer side of each cleat 4 extends from the wall I to the wall 2, when the box is viewed from the end thereof, and the rib is necessarily of the same length, and is integral for its full length with one side of the cleat. With this construction, therefore, each rib I3 is integral with one side of each of the grooves or notches 9, and these tongue and groove joints are thus stronger and more rugged and not as liable to split or break. In this way, each upper cleat 4 is preferably and desirably heavier and more rugged than the lower cleats 5, thus in effect providing the box ends with rugged and comfortable handles for the workers who lift and carry the boxes, and providing solid one-piece cleats to the wide tops of which the cover can be easily nailed by unskilled labor.

In actual practice, the tomatoes bulge above the top of the box, and the cover is bent down at its ends and fastened in place in the wellknown manner, thus tightly holding the load against any displacement. When the cover is taken off, a tool is used for this purpose, for prying the ends of the cover up at each end thereof, and at such time the relatively wide tops of the cleats t provide a wide margin of protection for the tomatoes or other products, as the tool is not as liable .to be v,iabbed into the tomatoes, as would be the case if the tops 'of these cleats were as narrow 'as the bottoms thereof. Moreover, of course, ,withthe'toinatoesof the top layer held a greater distance away from the ends of the box, they are not'as liable to be pinched between the cover and the tops of the upper cleats, in fastening the cover in place. Again, as the ribs 33 stay on the box anddo not come off with the cover, the manufacture of the box is not only simplified, but in addition the box is more easily opened and presents a more appealing appearance when the cover is removed.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the cleats .41 are permanently fastened in place, before the cover is put on, and hence that these cleats cannot be removed when the cover is removed. In other words, the body of the box is complete, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, without any removable parts, before the cover is fastened in place, and when the cover is taken off, nothing else comes off with it, either intentionally or unintentionally.

What Iclairn as my invention is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a box of the character shown and described, comprising front and rearand bottom walls, horizontal top and bottom and vertical front and rear cleats for the ends of the box, with end walls secured to the inner "sides" of'said cleats, the upper portion of each upper cleat being wider than the lower portion thereof, for the full length of each upper cleat, with the ends of these upper cleats against the inner surface of said front and rear walls, and with said end walls disposed under said wider portions of the cleats, all permanently fastened together in condition to receive a cover on top of said upper cleats.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, each upper cleat having a rounded bead extending for the full length of the cleat, along the upper portion of the cleat at one side thereof, overhanging the lower portion of the cleat, providing the extra width of the top of the cleat over the width of the bottom thereof.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, each upper cleat extending upwardly above the upper edges of the front and rear walls of the box, which walls are secured against the ends of the upper cleats, but with the upper edges of these walls in the plane of the upper edges of the end walls.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, each upper cleat having an integral rib on its upper inner side, overhanging the interior of the box, in a plane above the upper edges of the front and rear walls of the box, and having a flat lower inner side under said rib, engaging the flat outer side .of the end wall.

5. A structure as specified in claim 1, said upper cleats having grooves or notches at their opposite ends, half way between the inner and outer sides of said lower relatively narrow portion of the cleat, so that the full width of each upper cleat extends from the front wall to the rear wall of the box. I 6. A structure as specified in claim 1, said upper cleats having grooves or notches at their opposite ends, half way between the inner and outer sides of said lower relatively narrow portion of the cleat, so that the full width of each upper cleat extends from the front wall to the rear wall of the box, and each upper cleat having a rounded rib on its inner side, overhanging the interior of the box, affording additional thickness for the inner side of each groove or notch, in a plane above the upper edges of the front and rear and end walls of the box.

7 A structure as specified in claim 1, in combination with a cover for attachment to the tops of said upper cleats, the relatively wide tops of the latter providing ribs formed to overhang the flat lower inner sides of the cleats, and which 

